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Maria Theresa of Spain

1638–1683

Born
1638, Madrid
Country of birth
Spain
Died
30 Jul 1683, Versailles
facts
12
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

  • Birth1638, MadridProbableDisputed2 competing claims1 source
  • Death30 Jul 1683, VersaillesProbableDisputed1 competing claim1 source
  • ParentPhilip IV of SpainConfirmed1 source
  • ParentElisabeth of FranceConfirmed1 source
  • TitleConsort of FranceConfirmed1 source
  • UnionLouis XIV of FranceConfirmed1 source

A life in time

  1. Born · Madrid

    Birth, Madrid

  2. Child born: Louis, Grand Dauphin

    Birth, Fontainebleau

  3. Child born: Princess Anne Élisabeth of France

    Birth, Louvre Palace

  4. Child born: Princess Marie Anne of France

    Birth, Louvre Palace

  5. Child born: Marie Thérèse, Madame Royale

    Birth, Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye

  6. Child born: Philippe Charles, Duke of Anjou

    Birth, Saint-Germain-en-Laye

  7. Child born: Louis François, Duke of Anjou

    Birth, Saint-Germain-en-Laye

  8. Died · Versailles

    Death, Versailles

What was it like?

The world around Madrid, 1638: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

In 1680, a yard of the popular thin, black smoke cloak worn by women was valued at seven and a half reales. Meanwhile, a fashionable hand fan in the summer could cost as much as six escudos.

Known for

Titles held

  • Consort of France
Fashion

Costs of Fashionable Accessories

In 1680, a yard of the popular thin, black smoke cloak worn by women was valued at seven and a half reales. Meanwhile, a fashionable hand fan in the summer could cost as much as six escudos.

Extreme Baroque Fashion

Farthingales became so enormously wide that two women could stand apart yet still have their skirts touch, effectively occupying the space of a canopy. Women also used corrosive mercury sublimate to whiten their faces, often applying excessive amounts of blush.

Music

Church use of wooden matracas

During Holy Week, the Church allowed the use of wooden noisemakers called matracas to commemorate the death of Jesus when bells were forbidden.

The controversial zarabanda dance

The zarabanda was a popular but controversial dance known for its lascivious movements, often accompanied by singing, guitar, tambourine, and castanets.

Getting around

Common modes of seventeenth-century travel

People traveled mainly on foot, on horseback, or in mule-drawn litters and carts, as carriages were often uncomfortable due to a lack of suspension. The wealthy sometimes used litters or carriages, while the general population relied on horses, mules, or walking.

Fast travel via relay horses

Travel via the post system was the fastest method, with royal mail and some travelers using relay horses to reach speeds covering 150 to 200 kilometers per day. A trip from Seville to Madrid, for example, was expected to be completed in two days and eighteen hours.

Daily life

Accessing water for daily use

While wealthy households might have a private well, most ordinary families had to carry water from the nearest public fountain to their homes.

Nightly waste disposal and street hygiene

To maintain hygiene, residents often threw waste from their homes onto the streets at night, leading to the famous cry of "agua va" to warn passersby. This practice contributed significantly to the extreme filth and foul odors reported by foreign travelers in cities like Madrid.

Food

Survival diet using chestnuts and nuts

In some northern regions of Spain, when grain was scarce, families survived for six months or more by eating chestnuts, nuts, and various wild fruits and herbs. This reliance on non-grain staples was a common adaptation to regional food shortages.

The staple olla stew for commoners

The staple dish for commoners was a thick stew known as olla, which was simmered for hours and often thickened with flour made from wheat or millet, popularly called flour of the poor. It typically consisted of available legumes, such as chickpeas, beans, or fava beans, and vegetables like turnips.

Work

Wages for field laborers and servants

Farm laborers working as live-in servants often earned an annual salary of up to 32 reales, while daily field workers typically earned between 30 maravedíes and 3.5 reales per day plus wine.

Work of the water carrier

Water carriers, known as azacán in Andalusia, supplied houses without private wells by transporting water in jars or barrels using donkeys or mule-drawn carts.

News and letters

Payment upon delivery for letters

Recipients had to pay the postage fee in cash to the carrier upon delivery, as there were no postage stamps at the time.

Secret notes hidden in objects

People used small, secret notes called billetes, which were sometimes hidden in everyday objects like conservation boxes or inside water jugs to maintain privacy.

During their lifetime

  1. 1640

    Catalan peasant revolt in 1640

    During the winter of 1640, a peasant uprising broke out in Catalonia against Spanish troops stationed there, leading to political instability.

  2. 1647

    Plague epidemic ravages Spanish regions

    A widespread plague outbreak began in Valencia in 1647, devastating various regions across Spain until its final decline in 1654.

  3. 1648

    The Fronde civil uprisings begin

    The Fronde, a series of violent civil uprisings against royal authority and high taxes, broke out in 1648 and lasted until 1653, forcing the royal family to flee Paris.

  4. 1648

    The Fronde Civil Wars (1648–1653)

    The Fronde, a series of civil wars between 1648 and 1653, led to food scarcity, high taxes, and fighting that caused the king to flee the capital.

  5. 1656

    Royal Edict on Beggars (1656)

    In 1656, a royal edict established the Hopital General in Paris, forcing over six thousand beggars into labor as part of a policy to clear the streets.

  6. 1660

    Pyrenees Earthquake (1660)

    A major earthquake struck the Pyrenees in 1660, destroying 20 houses in Bagnères-de-Bigorre and causing the collapse of the bell tower of Saint-Michel church in Bordeaux.

Family

Parents

Spouses

Children

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.